The LTB WR-51 Cinema 1 wireless headphones offer true 5.1-channel surround sound. The package consists of the headphones and a base station that transmits over the 2.4-GHz radio frequency band. It works equally well with PCs and home theater systems. Though it's not nearly as convincing as a set of surround speakers, it does provide sound that's well suited for action movies and gaming. The wireless performance isn't so hot when you're moving around, but when you're sitting in one spot, it works fine. The price is high (you can find it for less online), but it may come down as more players enter this market.

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Setup is very easy, though you'll need an optical or coaxial digital output for plugging the base station into the desired source. (Nearly all standalone DVD players have one or the other, and if your PC doesn't have one, you can use an external audio adapter such as the M-Audio Transit USB.) A switch on the back lets you toggle between coaxial and optical inputs. It would be nice if the base station had analog inputs as well. The headphones sit on the base station when not in use, and the removable rechargeable battery pack charges via a short cable that plugs into the base station, which runs on AC power. The system ships with an optical cable and a digital coaxial cable, as well as an AC adapter.

The leather headphone pads are soft and very comfortable, and they seem as if they'll last a while. They're circumaural for smaller ears, though larger ears may not be completely covered, and swivel 90 degrees horizontally and about 30 degrees vertically. The adjustable headband is sturdy and well padded. The right earcup houses the battery and power button, while the left earcup has volume buttons and a channel selector. Each earcup has three separately enclosed speaker drivers in it: one for rear/surround, one for the center channel, and one main driver for the front and subwoofer channels.

The closed-back design of the headphone keeps sound from leaking out too much and provides some passive noise blocking. Headband compression isn't particularly tight; they may fall off if you shake your head around hard.

When you turn on the headphones, there's sometimes some annoying system noise as they try to lock on the signal. This doesn't happen every time; it seems to depend on what channel the base station and headphones are set to. When you pause, fast-forward, or rewind during playback, there's a very high-pitched whine that may really irritate people who are sensitive to sound. I experienced occasional half-second dropouts when I moved around, but the signal remained consistent when I sat relatively still.

The WR-51's 2.4-GHz ISM band signal is susceptible to interference from nearby devices such as 2.4-GHz cordless phones and microwave ovens, though I didn't get any interference from cell phones. There are channel-selector buttons on both the headphones and the base station, and you have to press the button on the base station and then the one on the headphones to switch from one of the three channels to another. I'd much prefer adaptive frequency-hopping to this. I was able to get roughly 55 feet of line-of-sight range with a consistent signal.

Battery life is rated at up to 7 hours, and charging takes about 3 hours. I did my own battery-rundown test using the headphones 7 feet away from the base station and at a comfortable listening volume, and I got 7.5 hours of continuous playback. This should be more than sufficient, unless you're watching all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back.

The WR-51's bass-heavy sound is definitely not ideal for regular music listening, but it's good for games and movies because it provides powerful explosions and rumbles. Dialogue is clear, and highs have enough presence to cut through all that bass. I was able to improve the sound for music by pumping up the treble in my music player's equalization options, though the low end was still a bit muddy and overbearing.

Like all 5.1 headphones, the WR-51's surround effects aren't as convincing as speakers' are, but the panning from side to side is smoother than with stereo headphones, and you can locate sounds "behind" you reasonably clearly in movies such as The Matrix and games such as Quake 4. The base station has integrated Dolby Digital and Pro Logic decoders, so make sure to set your DVD audio options accordingly for best results.

You'll also get way more volume than you need, so if you don't want to blow out your eardrums, make sure you start with the volume set to the minimum when you turn the base station on. The system incorporates LTB's SafeBass technology, which limits the bass output so long-term use doesn't result in hearing damagea nice touch, given that these are designed to be worn for hours at a time.

Overall these headphones, billed as the only wireless 5.1-channel headphones currently on the market, nonetheless seem somewhat overpriced, especially given the somewhat cheap build quality. Though the surround effects aren't as convincing as what you can get with discrete speakers, the headphones do provide optimal sound for action movies and shooter games, with lots of thump and rumble. The wireless performance isn't perfect, but if you're not moving around too much these headphones can provide a good listening experience for late-night movie watching or gaming. Just be sure to make your microwave popcorn before you start the movie.

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